


Form

by sarumane



Category: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, artist ravio, baseball player link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21513220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarumane/pseuds/sarumane
Summary: Link has good form, Ravio thinks.He ends up drawing Link idly during class only to realize what he's doing and erases it. It gets worse when he discovers that Link plays baseball. Sitting in the bleachers sketchbook in hand, Ravio tells himself that it's for a project. It's definitely not an excuse to watch Link run around in a uniform.
Relationships: Link/Ravio (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 113





	Form

**Author's Note:**

> Uhh, I’ve had this idea for awhile now and finally got around to writing something for it. Thank you leo_minor for proof reading!

Link has good form, Ravio thinks. 

He ends up drawing Link idly during class only to realize what he's doing and erases it. It gets worse when he discovers that Link plays baseball. Sitting in the bleachers sketchbook in hand, Ravio tells himself that it's for a project. It's definitely not an excuse to watch Link run around in a uniform. 

Next to him, Irene would tug his sleeve insistently to show him funny videos or pictures of cute animals, breaking his concentration. Cute animals or not, if it was anyone else, Ravio would have quietly moved to find another seat. However, she was his ride home and Ravio didn't feel like walking. 

Around the two, spectators cried out while others cheered. 

"Ravio, did something happen?" Irene asked without looking up. 

"Sure did!" At the very least, he's been paying attention even if he has no knowledge of the sport. 

"And? Are we winning?" 

Ravio looked over at the scoreboard. "Barely," he said. 

Neither satisfied or disappointed with his answer, she hummed. "Where's your boy?" 

With a nudge of his elbow, Ravio gets her attention and he points. "Link's over there." 

Eyes following his finger, she's able to spot him quickly. Placing his weight onto his back leg, he pivots his torso and the bat hits the ball with a thwack. The sound echoes through the field as he runs off towards first base. 

"You should probably talk to him. I dunno, ask for his number or something, instead of just staring at him and drawing." 

Ravio turns to her, clearly affronted, and holds his sketchbook close to his chest. "They're figure drawings," he says. Ravio feels his face burn underneath her gaze. "It's good practice!" 

"Mr. Yuga will probably ask why you keep drawing the same thing though." 

At this, Ravio groaned, "Don't." Irene cackled and he clutched the sketchbook tighter as if the very man was nearby. "We came here to have a good time." 

Irene raised an eyebrow. 

" _I_ came here to have a good time," Ravio corrected himself. Not forgetting his good manners, he quickly added, "Thank you for driving me, by the way. I promise to pay you back." 

"Oh, it's fine," Irene said as she waved him off with a smile. 

But it's not fine and they know it. He'll eventually pay her back with gas money among other favors like buying her snacks. And he should, because she's listened to him gush about a certain baseball player. 

It was endearing at first. Almost sickeningly so, in her opinion. But Irene was slowly getting tired. She got up and stood in front of Ravio, blocking his view of the field. "I'm getting something from the concession stand. Want anything?"

He shook his head. Wordlessly, she walked off. When she came back grinning, Ravio twisted his face into a grimace. And he's done so for good reason. Without so much as a warning, a water bottle is tossed his way. 

He holds the drink, questioningly. "I didn't ask for this." 

"It's for Link, dummy." 

"Oh," he said and went back to drawing. "What, are you going to give it to him?"

Irene ignored Ravio's slightly miffed tone, it's not her fault that he's got poor reflexes. "No, I don't think I will. You should already know that." When his hand stilled its movements and he looked up at her with confusion, she spoke up. "You will, once the game ends. It'll be a good icebreaker, trust me!"

  
  
  
  


An hour or so later, this is how Ravio finds himself being pushed forward just a few feet away from Link. After giving one final shove, Irene slinked back and headed for the parking lot. 

"Hey, Irene, I don't think-" Ravio stops once he sees that she's nowhere to be found. He has half a mind to go after her, but finding her proves to be difficult with all the people milling about. She wouldn't drive off without him, right? Ravio shifted his weight onto his other foot uneasily. The rest of the baseball team has formed somewhat of an imposing wall around Link and suddenly Ravio understood. She thought she was clever. He'll find another day to talk to him. It's a sign, he thinks.

He's proven wrong when the person next to Link briefly locked eyes on Ravio and smiled. There's a small voice that tells him that he wants to run away and that he should, but his legs aren't listening because he wants to stay and see what happens. The baseball team members are loud, whistling and hooting around Link. Someone shook Link's shoulder excitedly and it was too late for Ravio to make the decision himself. Link squeezed through the crowd and strolled towards him. 

"Hey! Ravio, right?" 

Ravio gripped the water bottle tighter and waved with his free hand. 

"Didn't think you'd like going to these type of things. Is this your first?" 

He nodded. "Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about." A lie; a quick look through his sketchbook tells otherwise. 

"Well, I hope we didn't disappoint," Link laughed. "We were so close to losing, too." 

Ravio can only chuckle in response. This was a horrible idea. He should've just looked for Irene and went home. 

"So, is that for me?" Link teasingly asked, licking his lips. 

"Huh?" 

He saw Link's finger pointing and Ravio grinned, quickly passing the bottle over to the other. "It is, actually!" 

Ravio watched Link give him a look of surprise before glancing at the bottle. 

"Really?" Link's fingers twitch on the bottle. "It's okay?" 

He's thirsty. Of course he is, after all that running around. It's only after Ravio nods his head that Link smiled and unscrewed the cap. "You're a lifesaver, a hero, really. Any way I can pay you back, by chance?"

Ravio blinked, feeling warm. _Your number, perhaps._ Just as the thought is formed, it's quickly dismissed. _Too forward_. 

"Anything at all? I'd feel bad if I just let you go like this." 

"I have an art project," Ravio blurted out. "And, I happen to need a model- for reference, of course, if you don't mind," he trailed off sheepishly.

"Hm," is all that Link said at first and Ravio's palms grew sweaty. "Not the strangest thing I've agreed to. Can I have your number, though?" 

Ravio dug in his bag for his sketchbook only to freeze. _The drawings._ He quickly flipped to a blank page away from any incriminating evidence and scrawled out a series of digits in the corner before tearing it off. The piece of paper is passed from one hand to another. Ravio's head was blank as their fingers brushed against each other. He's quickly startled out of his trance when he heard Link's name being called. 

"Well, I have to get going. I'll talk to you later?" 

Ravio weakly waved goodbye. His throat feels dry. "See you." 

Suddenly, Ravio was glad he didn't go home.

  
  


"So after months of practically mooning over him, you finally did it." 

He turned around to see Irene with her arms crossed smugly. 

"But really, of all the things you could've said, an 'art project', " she scoffed. 

"Did you forget?" 

Scowling, Irene sighed. "I'm getting real tired of Yuga's shit." She clapped her hands before flinging her arm around Ravio's neck. "Whatever, who cares! Let's celebrate and get something to eat." 

  
  
  
  


The next day, Yuga does ask Ravio why he kept drawing the same thing. The sketchbook is laid out on the desk for all to see. A pale finger jabbed at Link's face. 

"Absolute rubbish." 

Ravio winced. 

Yuga moved onto the next page, his hand hovered, and Ravio worried that he'll rip it out from the binding. 

"Derivative." 

With his gut twisting, Ravio watched Yuga turn the page and braced himself for another scathing remark. 

"This isn't good enough. Your subject, especially, isn't good enough." 

At his sides, Ravio's fingernails dug into his palms. Putting aside his wounded feelings and the slight against not only him, but towards Link as well, frustration only built up inside of Ravio as he stood next to Yuga. 

"Sir, you literally told everyone to pick a _human_ subject for the painting. And I did!" 

Yuga was too busy flipping through the pages and humming to listen to Ravio's outcry. When he does stop, there's a nasty smile on his face. 

"Now this, _this_ is beautiful." 

Ravio sees a loose leaf paper that he had stuck inside ages ago, from another class no less. He doesn't see how his notes could possibly appeal to Yuga until a suddenly familiar blob of purple catches his eyes. It's a thoughtless thing Ravio had scribbled out during a lecture to stave off boredom. A bunny with blue eyes and buck teeth gazed at him. 

"You can't be serious." 

"No, I'm just pulling your leg." With a frown, Yuga continued, "Get to work and keep the due date in mind. Next!" 

Ravio is pushed away from the desk and his sketchbook shoved back into his hands. Still in shock, he stumbled over and sat down next to Irene. Pushing his dark hair back away from his face, Ravio whispered, "Holy shit." 

"That is absolutely fucked." 

  
  
  


Seeing Link, however, is not. In fact, seeing him makes Ravio's day better despite his nervousness. He trailed after Link and closed the door. Pulling up a chair, Ravio sat down in front of his easel and looked at him. Awkwardly, the young man reached for the zipper on his jacket. 

"Do I…?" He's already unzipped his jacket halfway.

Ravio's face is set ablaze as he watched Link undress. "Oh! Uh, no, you… You keep that on. You can keep everything on, I mean." 

Likewise, Link's face turned a brilliant red. His laughter is stilted as he quickly zipped up his jacket. "Right! I knew that!" 

"No, it's my bad. I should've told you," Ravio said after taking a breath. He examined his subject with disapproval. "I need you to loosen up a bit." 

Link shifted slightly from his spot. "Like this?" 

Ravio made his way over behind Link and placed his hands on his shoulder. "I'm just going to move you, alright?" 

He feels Link shiver underneath his hands. 

"Are you cold?" And he can't see why, seeing how Link still had his jacket on.

"No, I'm fine," Link says. 

Unconvinced, Ravio pulled away. "Maybe we should stop. You don't have to do this if you don't want-" 

"No, I do. Tell me what to do." 

Putting his hands back on Link, Ravio ran them along the other's arms. "I think it's better if I just show you- oh, wow, you're really stiff." 

It took Link a bit to release the tension in his body. When he's finally relaxed enough, he let the artist move his limbs as he saw fit. "Perfect." 

He worked in relative silence save for his pencil lightly scratching against the canvas. It stayed like this until he noticed Link's head lolling over a couple of times. To keep him from falling asleep, Ravio asked questions.

  
  
  


Within a couple of hours, the acquaintance he had come to admire slowly becomes more familiar to him. He can only hope that the feeling is mutual as he answered Link in return. 

Link's body slowly began to cramp up from being in the same position for an extended period of time. Ravio gave Link an apologetic smile. "Just a bit more. I'll make it worthwhile." 

And Ravio does when he finally says, "You can relax now." 

Link slumped over, groaning a bit, only to tense up again. Rushing to his side, Ravio dug his palms into Link's back, hoping that his touch is at the very least soothing. Link makes it easier by leaning closer and lets him continue his kneading. 

"Sorry about that. You must be hungry now. We can get something to eat- my treat, of course."

Ravio holds Link's arm to steady him as they leave the room. At the prospect of food, Link seems to tug Ravio forward. Laughing, he lets himself be dragged out of the room. 

  
  
  
  


It becomes a regular occurrence to eat dinner together after a session of modelling. As Ravio continues working, it becomes clear to him that Link's help won't be needed much longer. 

Another unfortunate revelation: he won't be able to use dinner as an excuse to spend more time with Link. 

It's after one particular session that Ravio was in the middle of turning over his thoughts at the table, figuring out how he wants to say it, when Link asks him to go to his baseball practice. Just to see if his form is good, Link says. An outsider's opinion usually proved to be insightful and Ravio couldn't have agreed more. 

  
  


Days later, Ravio finds himself sitting in the bleachers when he hears yelling. Today, he decides that he likes the baseball team for all their rowdiness. 

"It's Link's waterboy!"

"Did he ask you out already?" 

"Aw, he's blushing!" 

He doesn't have the chance to do or say much of anything because Link runs up to them, shooing them away before turning around to climb up the bleachers. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously. 

"They like to tease, if you haven't noticed. I can get them to stop." 

Ravio barely catches Link saying "if you'd like,". He doesn't mind it. Link stares at him, waiting for a reaction. Impulsively, Ravio reached out and took Link's hand in his with a grin. 

Link's face is a lovely shade of pink as he holds up their hands. "So it's…?" 

He nods and his grin only grows wider when he hears Link groan while the rest of the baseball team cheers. He doesn't mind it at all.

Sadly, they can't spend the entire practice holding hands.

"You should probably get going." 

Link makes a noise and lets go of Ravio's hand.

  
  
  


Practice goes swimmingly, at least, Ravio thinks so. He still hasn't really figured out the rules. But with Link nearby, he can ask all the questions he wants. A ball is thrown Link's way and he swings his bat in a fluid motion. 

Link does, in fact, have good form. 

  
  
  



End file.
